Vehicular traffic can be greatly affected by disturbances in the normal flow of traffic. Blocking one lane of a multi-lane highway may result in traffic congestion that stretches for a mile or more. Furthermore, in some cases traffic may become congested in multiple directions, such as where the blockage occurs within an intersection. Often, the traffic disturbance is the result of someone committing a traffic violation such as running a stop light, speeding, reckless driving, or colliding with another vehicle.
When a traffic violation occurs, the individual committing the traffic violation may or may not be caught. When caught, either by a photo enforcement system or by a police officer, the fine is generally pre-determined based on the violation that has been committed. The entity pays a pre-determined monetary fine and accepts a predetermined number of violation points associated with the particular violation or the entity appeals the violation to challenge it. However, the fine associated with the violation has no relationship to the impact of the traffic disturbance that resulted from the traffic violation and may have less of a deterrent effect as a result.